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You don't double thumb, neither does Stanley. But...

#23
Altitude said:
Interesting you bring that up, as those two players were pretty much the two benchmark players within that style area for a long time in the 70s. Johnson traded on the Thunderthumbs identity and Clarke used to playfully jab at him, challenging him to play anything that was not key of E. They were and are two sides of a certain coin.

You won’t get very far throwing shade at Stanley Clarke as a slap bass player - he was one of the original innovators. But, as your comment implies, his playing was always a little more about note choices than about powerful bulldozing licks. That said, he did record many really badass tracks. Check out “Play the Bass 10” on Time Exposure, “Bad Asses” on Toys of Men as two examples.
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Play the Bass 10...that was all Louis Johnson's slapping. Stanley only played piccolo on it.

I was absolutely mesmerized by that track and would pan left then right to isolate those two insane slap tracks.
 
#24
Mister Magic said:
Play the Bass 10...that was all Louis Johnson's slapping. Stanley only played piccolo on it.

I was absolutely mesmerized by that track and would pan left then right to isolate those two insane slap tracks.
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Nice! Makes sense too - that sounds more like LJ than Stanley anyway.
 
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#26
I did not read most of the replies but surprised the number that replied. Apologies to those I might have offended :D I forgot the smile emojis, But my point is that Stanley is an all around, he can bow, he can comp, he can walk and swing and has pioneering contribution to fusion and jazz electric bass. He is slightly underrated IMO. I He is one of my heroes
 
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#29
I suppose we all have different perspectives.

In 1974, I was primarily a student of the whole British Progressive school; with heavy emphasis on Robert Fripp’s King Crimson ensembles. Top 40 was Beatles, Beach Boys, and Motown / STAX; but, the bass was barely audible on the AM car radios.

Then, I happened to catch this particular episode of PBS Soundstage:



My musical life literally made an abrupt shift into the whole Blues, Jazz, and R&B world. In large part, Stanley Clarke had a massive influence on that revelation. Up to that point, my exposure was “limited.”

No one person or player is the whole thing. And, it is the goal of every musician to bring their own thing to the table to push the art forward. There are no “best”s. We have skills, capabilities, and awareness to draw from in performance.

Back to practicing.
 
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#31
Sounds as if Stanley was struggling a bit at times there, with quite a few timing hiccups during his solo. Makes me feel better about my own hiccups while slapping. 😁 Fun performance though - and Herbie was smoking. I love it when players look like they're actually having fun.
 
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#33
I went to a Louis Johnson clinic once and he kept bringing up Stanley's first wife being a control freak and not letting Stanley come out and play. His stories were funny.
Back on topic, IMHO double thumbing doesn't make you funky, I've heard plenty of double thumbing players kill the funk with that technique.
 
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#35
Element Zero said:
Everyone’s got their preferences. I think this example of a slapped Alembic sounds plunky and quite frankly, atrocious.
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Sounds fine to me, the man is an OG.
I just saw him a couple of months ago…
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#38
Les Fret said:
underrated by who? He is one of the most famous and mentioned fusion players.
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For DB -- many other modern players get on top of the list but many of those guys can't do arco and not much else when it comes to pizz. What comes to miind is an SBL Video Same with electric list. Not even in top 20 in some cases. I Said slightly under rated - He makes the top 50 at least.

Also how much do you guys listen to Stanley Clarke, Be honest about it,
 
#39
logdrum said:
Not even in top 20 in some cases. I Said slightly under rated - He makes the top 50 at least.

Also how much do you guys listen to Stanley Clarke, Be honest about it,
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I still listen to him quite a bit. Popularity polls don’t say much about the quality or rating of the player. More about popularity or if you are in a famous band, so I hardly ever take those polls seriously….
 
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#40
logdrum said:
For DB -- many other modern players get on top of the list but many of those guys can't do arco and not much else when it comes to pizz. What comes to miind is an SBL Video Same with electric list. Not even in top 20 in some cases. I Said slightly under rated - He makes the top 50 at least.

Also how much do you guys listen to Stanley Clarke, Be honest about it,
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I honestly have listened to maybe 5 songs. Is he a massively influential musician to a LARGE audience AND insanely talented?Absolutely. I heard a tune or 2 when I first started playing in high school jazz band back in the 90’s. But he as a player and the tunes I’ve heard where he’s a soloist or the lead do nothing for me. The bits where he’s a “normal” bass player I dig though lol.
 

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